Behind The Box Score

Days removed from his spectacular 46 point outing in a loss against Mifflin, East’s Jerry Dixon returned for Friday’s game against Linden-McKinley expecting to not only play better but lead the Tigers to a victory. Dixon made the highlight reel yet again, this time in a win.

The problem thus far for East was that they could score, but could they maintain leads? In a 78-61 victory over McKinley, the Tigers answered that question. With 27 points coming from Dixon, the balance in scoring was key to the win as two more players scored in double digits (Jordan Laster, 18 pts, Lipson, 16 pts). Building a 41-35 lead by halftime, the defensive pressure would need to be increased to secure a win.

Serving as the mantra of the game, the Tigers answered the call. Limiting the visiting Panthers to nine points in the third quarter, a 35-26 run to end the game let off a sigh of relief for the home fans that witnessed an 11 point lead given up in the final minutes during Tuesday’s loss against Mifflin. Dixon was the player of the game, leading everyone in scoring with 26 points. Two of those came on a poster dunk in the second quarter where a deflected pass left Dixon with open court. Setting up for the dunk, the trailing defender came into the picture in hopes of stopping an easy two. No such feat would be accomplished for Linden as Dixon went right up and over the opposition for a dunk that should be put posters all through the Capital City.

Dixon did more than dunk on  Friday, knocking down three huge shots from behind the arc essentially giving the Tigers the balance they needed for a victory. Three decades removed from the glory years at East when Tiger fans saw the teams from 1967-69, go 70-1 with two state championships in ’68 and ’69, now this program is hoping to return to that status, or at least close to it. Improving to 1-1 on the season, the next crucial game for the Tigers comes on January 5th at Northland, arguably the best team in the nation. If Dixon can keep dominating on both sides of the ball and can get help from his teammates, the Tigers have a small chance of upending the Vikings.